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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. drill — the tool
  3. drill — a practice
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. sharp — clever
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. band — a music group
  8. chair — a leader
  9. cell — a phone
  10. game — wild animals
  11. cell — in biology
  12. prune — to trim
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. game — a match
  15. band — a ring
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. prune — to trim
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. drill — army training
  24. wave — a sudden rise

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com